UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
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People  of  the 


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^TATES 


Currency  Question. 


SAMUEL  HOARD. 


CHICAGO: 

Lakeside  Publishing  and  Printing  Company. 

1877.  4 

% 


TO  THE  PEOPLE 


OF  THE 


UNITED  STATES 


For  more  than  a year  past  the  financial  condition  of 
the  country  has  occupied  a prominent  position  in  my 
thoughts,  and  I have  dwelt  upon  it  with  a persistency 
somewhat  foreign  to  my  nature.  In  my  earliest  investi- 
gation I became  fully  convinced  that  the  evils  under 
which  we  are  suffering  were  the  natural  consequences  of 
unwise  laws,  which  in  their  operation  produce  great  and 
rapid  fluctuations  in  the  estimated  values  of  property ; 
and  that,  as  far  as  possible,  and  as  speedily  as  practicable, 
such  legislative  action  should  be  procured  as  would  coun- 
teract the  evils,  and  prevent  their  recurrence  in  the 
future.  It  appeared  to  me  that  I had  been  able  to  trace 
their  effect  to  the  causes,  and  to  see  clearly  the  remedy 
by  which  they  might  be  greatly  mitigated,  or  wholly  re- 
moved. * 

Under  these  convictions,  I sought  to  bring  my  views 
before  the  people  for  their  consideration  : and  if,  upon 
full  discussion  they  were  found  worthy  of  approval,  to  be 
adopted.  But  I was  met  by  the  press,  almost  without 
exception,  with  a determination  to  maintain  a silence 
upon  the  subject,  that  to  me  was  inexplicable.  I found 
that  laws  had  been  passed  by  the  highest  legislative  tri- 
bunal of  my  country,  that  at  one  time  virtually  declared 
that  'promises  to  pay  money  were  to  be  taken  and  received 
as  payment  in  money,  or  rather  in  liquidation  of  a debt 
contracted  to  be  paid  in  money.  I found  that  the  same 
legislature  at  another  time  declared  that  only  gold  should 
be  receivable  as  money  in  payment  of  the  national  debt, 
while  the  promises  to  pay  money  should  still  be  received 
in  payment  of  individual  indebtedness  ; and  I came  to  the 
conclusion  that  one  of  these  laws  must  be  wrong  in  prin- 
ciple — and  it  appears  to  me  that  both  were  unconstitu- 
tional, or  at  least  in  contravention  of  the  principles  of  the 
Constitution  which  require  equal  and  exact  justice  to  all. 


4 


I 'believe,  Q^m^/one  has  said,  that  law  is  the  perfection  of 
.\yisdom.  l/virould  ask,  which  of  these  laws  — that  which 
'•declares1  ^prqmises  to  pay  money,  to  be  money,  or  that 
\vh.ich  dreo;ai'e^  that  gold  only  shall  be  received  as  money? 
oI  think  tha  debtor  class  would  prefer  the  former,  but  the 
creditor*  would  adhere  to  the  latter  with  the  same  persist- 
ency that  the  late  administration  has  held  on  to  the 
unjust  law  of  1873. 

Situated  as  I then  found  myself,  what  could  I do  — an 
old  man,  on  the  border  land  between  two  stages  of  exist- 
ence, just  ready  to  pass  from  the  one  to  the  other,  not  occu- 
pying a position  to  give  weight  to  my  opinions  ? It  looked 
almost  like  presumption  to  attempt  to  make  them  public. 
Yet  to  me  they  appeared  important,  for  if  correct,  they 
deeply  affected  the  interests  of  the  people  ; and  my  strong 
American  sympathies  induced  me  to  make  the  attempt. 
I remembered  that  the  cackling  of  a goose  once  saved 
Rome,  and  thought  possibly  the  babbling  of  an  old  man 
might  awaken  the  guardians  of  my  country’s  welfare,  and 
arouse  them  to  its  defense  in  this  hour  of  danger.  I 
therefore  prepared  some  articles  for  publication,  but  the 
subject  was  surrounded  with  such  difficulties,  that  I knew 
not  how  to  present  it  acceptably.  I gave  some  of  them 
to  one  of  our  city  papers,  and  the  editor,  as  an  act  of  per- 
sonal courtesy,  inserted  them  ; but  perceiving  their  ten- 
dency, declined  to  publish  anything  further  on  the  sub- 
ject. In  justice  to  that  editor,  however,  I feel  great  pleas- 
ure in  saying,  that  upon  more  mature  reflection  he  became 
convinced  that  my  views  led  in  the  right  direction,  and 
though  wholly  against  his  personal  interest,  he  became  the 
able  advocate  of  the  necessity  of  remonetizing  silver,  and 
placing  it  upon  the  same  monetary  basis  upon  which  the 
fathers  of  our  country  had  established  it.  I also  sent 
some  of  these  articles  to  Senator  Jones,  of  Nevada,  who  I 
found  had  already  taken  the  subject  under  consideration, 
and  shortly  after  published  his  great  speech  on  the  silver 
question,  which  has  thrown  so  much  light  upon  the  sub- 
ject that  public  sentiment  appears  to  indicate  the  neces- 
sity of  repealing  the  law  alluded  to.  But,  so  far  as  I 
have  seen,  there  are  some  important  considerations,  deserv- 
ing attention,  which  have  not  been  prominently  brought 
to  view,  but  should  be,  in  order  that  all  the  important 
bearings  of  the  question  may  be  fully  understood.  Some 
of  these  I have  endeavored  to  set  forth  in  the  articles 


alluded  to  ; but  as  these  articles  were  published  at  periods 
remote  from  each  other,  and  during  an  excited  presiden- 
tial contest,  they  may  have  escaped  the  attention  of  even 
those  interested  in  the  investigation  of  the  subject,  I have 
thought  it  would  not  be  inappropriate  to  present  them  in 
a more  compact  form,  especially  as  it  is  probable  legisla- 
tive action  may  be  taken  at  the  approaching  session  of 
Congress  on  this  question  ; and  therefore  have  concluded 
to  reproduce  them  at  this  time,  with  such  additional  ones 
as  may  now  occur  to  me,  in  the  hope  that  my  mite  may 
aid  in  making  up  the  necessary  contribution  to  secure  the 
remonetizing  of  silver  at  the  earliest  possible  period. 

In  discussing  questions  of  this  character  it  is  proper 
to  look  back  to  their  past  history,  if  we  would  'form 
reliable  opinions  as  to  their  future  tendency ; and  as  this 
is  purely  a money  question,  that  we  may  not  be  led  astray 
as  to  what  constitutes  money,  it  will  be  important  that  its 
true  and  legitimate  definition  should  be  understood ; 
although  it  might  be  interesting  and  instructive  to  inquire 
as  to  the  benefits  and  objects  that  led  to  the  universal 
adoption  of  gold  and  silver  as  money  in  past  ages,  and  its 
acknowledgment  as  such  by  nine-tenths  of  the  world  at 
the  present  time,  it  will  be  sufficient  for  my  present  pur- 
pose to  show  what  is  and  was  money  in  the  common 
acceptation  of  che  term.  Lexicographers  so  perfectly 
agree  and  have  given  such  clear  definitions  of  it, 
that  it  will  only  be  necessary  to  quote  their  own  words. 
One  defines  it  to  be  stamped  metal , generally  gold,  silver, 
or  copper,  used  in  traffic  or  as  the  measure  of  prices. 
Locke  says  that  money  differs  from  uncoined  silver  in  that 
the  quantity  of  silver  in  each  piece  of  money  is  ascertained 
by  the  stamp  it  bears,  which  is  a public  voucher.  Web- 
ster, agreeing  fully  with  others,  as  to  the  character  of 
money,  adds,  we  some  times  give  the  name  of  money  to 
other  coined  metals , and  to  any  other  material  which  rude 
nations  use  as  a medium  of  trade — and  in  common  par- 
lance bank  notes  and  bills  of  credit — exchangeable  for  com , 
are  called  money.  These  definitions,  however,  are  given 
in  accordance  with  present  usages.  In  the  23d  chapter 
of  Genesis  we  find  a similar  definition  of  money,  though 
the  silver  was  weighed — stamped  coin  not  having  at  that 
period  been  adopted.  In  the  early  ages  silver  appears  to 
have  been  most  commonly  used  as  money,  though  gold  is 
also  spoken  of,  but  in  all  cases  a specific  name  was  given 


6 


to  the  money  to  be  paid,  as  there  is  at  the  present  day. 
Among  the  Jews  it  was  denominated  a shekel ; in  modern 
nations  each  has  its  own  designation ; in  Russia  it  is  the 
ruble  ; in  France,  the  franc  ; in  Germany  the  thaler,  in 
England  the  pound,  in  America  the  dollar.  Each  of  these 
were  and  are  called,  in  their  respective  countries,  money, 
because  they  severally  contain  the  specific  number  of 
grains  of  gold  or  silver  that,  by  the  laws  of  the  country, 
have  been  determined  should  be  known  as  a shekel,  ruble, 
franc,  thaler,  pound,  or  dollar.  A shekel  of  silver  con- 
tained about  220  grains,  valued  in  our  coin  at  a little  over 
half  a dollar ; a shekel  in  gold  about  132  grains,  valued 
in  our  money  at  about  five  dollars  and  seventy  cents. 
Abraham  was  to  pay  for  the  field  purchased,  “four  hun- 
dred shekels  of  silver , current  money  with  the  merchant .” 
In  all  ages  of  the  world  gold  and  silver  have  only  been 
recognized  as  money  in  commercial  transactions,  or  in 
payment  of  debts,  where  a specific  commodity  was  not 
named — to  be  accepted  in  its  stead. 

If  the  definitions  before  stated  are  correct  as  to  what 
constitutes  money,  then  all  debts,  not  specifically  payable 
otherwise,  are  payable  in  gold  and  silver  only , in  accord- 
ance with  the  laws  as  they  existed  at  the  time  the  debt 
was  contracted.  If  when  the  debt  was  contracted  a con- 
stitutional dollar  was  composed  of  a specific  number  of 
grains  of  gold  or  silver,  then  either  gold  or  silver  dollars, 
having  the  requisite  number  of  grains  would  be  a legal 
tender  in  payment  of  the  debt,  and  the  law  of  1873,  declar- 
ing gold  only  should  be  used  in  payment  of  our  national 
debt  was  a violation  of  the  constitutional  rights  of  the 
people,  which  Congress  had  no  power  to  pass,  and,  there- 
fore ought  to  be  declared  void.  It  is  readily  admitted 
that  Congress  has  power  to  determine  what  number  of 
grains  of  gold  or  silver  shall  constitute  a dollar  ; but  that 
power  must  necessarily  be  limited  to  what  should  be  its 
value  in  the  future,  and  not  retroactive  ; else,  by  dimin- 
ishing one-half  or  doubling  the  number  of  grains  of  gold 
or  silver,  which  should  constitute  a dollar,  Congress  would 
assume  to  itself  the  power,  at  its  pleasure,  of  saying  that 
a debtor  shall  pay  twice  what  he  agreed  to  pay  when  the 
debt  was  contracted,  or  a creditor  should  accept  half  what 
he  was  entitled  to  demand  when  he  parted  with  his  prop- 
erty. That  this  Would  be  an  ex  post  facto  law,  it  appears 
to  me  is  beyond  a doubt,  and  it  appears  to  me  equally 


< 


unjust,  wrong,  and  unconstitutional  to  say  that  a’ national 
debt  which,  when  contracted,  was  payable  in  either ’ gold 
or  silver  coin,  or  both  at  the  option  of  thh  'cfebtpr  ’at 
the  option  of  the  creditor,  be  payable  in  gold  only  wh^rp’ 
to  render  it  so  payable,  is  to  injure  the  debtor  for,  the 
benefit  of  the  creditor  to  the  extent  of  thp ’injury,  what- 
ever that  injury  may  be.  That  it  does  so  affect  the  peo- 
ple of  this  nation,  not  only  in  their  public  bnf  ,alpo.  iii 
their  invidual  relations  is  more  clearly  shown  by  the  eyentk 
of  the  past  few  years.  The  millions  that  had  been  dif- 
fused among  all  classes,  which  had  trebled,  and  in  many 
cases  quadrupled,  the  estimated  value  of  property,  had 
gradually  passed  from  the  hands  of  the  many  into  the 
hands  of  the  few,  and  the  imaginary  and  speculative  prices 
at  which  property  had  been  estimated,  began  to  decline 
toward  its  true  relative  value.  Then  came  this  unwise  act 
of  ’73,  which  in  its  tendency  would  depreciate  values  as 
much  below  their  true  estimate  as  they  had  previously 
been  above  it ; for  demonetizing  silver  was  actually  tak- 
ing about  one-half  the  value  from  property — it  being 
borne  in  mind  that  the  property  of  the  world  is  estimated 
by  that  which  represents  it — and. silver  and  gold  only 
being  money — and  the  amount  of  each  being  about  equal 
— it  follows  of  course  that  demonetizing  silver  would 
reduce  the  value  of  property  about  one-half  below  what 
it  would  be  if  the  bimetallic  standard  were  retained — and 
this  is  conclusively  shown  by  the  effect  of  that  act.  From 
the  day  of  its  passage,  property  has  rapidly  declined  in 
value,  until  the  debtor  classes,  and  those  having  property 
in  possession  obtained  at  former  valuations  are  almost 
universally  ruined  or  so  seriously  injured,  that  it  will  take 
many  years  to  recover  from  their  losses. 

I said  in  a former  part  of  this  article  that  great  and 
sudden  fluctuations  in  values  are  the  principal  causes  of 
the  evils  under  which  we  are  now  suffering.  Those  who 
have  carefully  read  the  history  of  the  rise  and  fall  of  na- 
tions cannot  fail  to  have  noticed  that  the  acquisition  of 
great  wealth  has,  in  most  cases,  resulted  in  such  demoral- 
izing influences  as  have  ultimately  led  to  their  ruin ; and 
the  lesson  we  have  learned  from  the  issue  of  thousands  of 
millions  that  we  have  received  and  accepted  as  money  is 
such  as  to  warn  us  against  a repetition  of  a similar  act  in 
future;  for  in  that  future  there  can  be  no  probability  of 
similar  reasons  to  justify  it;  and  great  as  has  been  the 


8 


expenditure  of  lives  and  treasures  in  our  late  internecine 
war~-fhe;  wiping  out  of  slavery,  the  destruction  of  caste, 
an’cf  the  rem'oVai  of  all  grounds  for  sectional  animosity  and 
'strife,  aild  the  placing  of  every  American  citizen  on  one 
common  {eVel,  it  will  be  found  that  we  shall  not  have  paid 
too  'dearly  for  these  privileges,  if  in  that  future  we  profit  as 
we  'ought  by  the  lessons  of  the  past.  Wealth  acquired 
by  anf  'other  means  than  honest  industry,  strict  economy, 
and  the  cultivation  of  those  moral  principles  that  teach 
lis'tb  regard  each  other’s  welfare,  is  seldom  or  never  ben- 
eficial to  its  possessors.  Even  the  great  Bismarck  has 
already  learned  that  the  milliards  obtained  from  France  are 
a curse  to  Germany  rather  than  a blessing ; while  the  in- 
dustry and  economy  that  France  must  necessarily  practice 
to  recover  from  the  loss  imposed  by  Germany,  may  ulti- 
mately prove  a blessing  upon  the  nation.  And  this  sug- 
gests a passing  thought  in  regard  to  the  use  of  silver  coin. 
In  France,  the  currency  in  general  use  being  metallic,  the 
people,  economical  in  their  habits,  had  laid  by  so  great 
an  amount  of  coin  as  to  enable  them,  from  their  own 
resources,  to  raise  the  large  sum  required  without  borrow- 
ing it  upon  promises  to  pay  at  such  sacrifice  as  England 
and  this  country  suffered  when  the  emergencies  of  the 
nations  demanded  large  expenditures  to  meet  their  wants. 
America  paid  in  promises,  nearly  or  quite  double  for  all 
her  war  debt,  and  England  disposed  of  her  consols  in 
nearly  the  same  ratio.  Promises  are  only  valuable  in  pro- 
portion to  the  ability  of  the  promiser  to  meet  his  obliga- 
tions, and  they  increase  or  depreciate  just  in  the  ratio  that 
the  ability  or  inability  to  pay  becomes  manifest.  The  peo- 
ple of  France  had  confidence  in  their  Government,  and 
loaned  their  funds  at  their  par  value,  thus  saving  to  the 
nation  hundreds  of  millions. 

Sudden  and  great  fluctuations  are  also  to  be  avoided, 
for  other  and  perhaps  stronger  reasons  than  have  been 
mentioned.  It  is  by  these  means  alone  that  great  for- 
tunes are  rapidly  acquired,  generally  injuring  the  many 
for  the  benefit  of  the  few,  and  usually  by  practices  sub- 
versive of  integrity  and  destructive  of  all  moral  principles. 
The  demonetizing  of  silver  reduces  it  to  a commodity  hav- 
ing no  specific  and  known  value,  and  places  within  the 
power  of  stock  jobbers  and  gambling  operators  an  article 
of  necessity  heretofore  known  only  as  money,  upon  which, 
by  almost  daily  fluctuations,  large  fortunes  may  be  realized. 


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9 


The  silver  of  the  world  is  estimated  to  amount  to  over  five 
thousand  millions.  One  per  cent,  on  this  amount  would  be 
fifty  millions.  During  the  last  year  the  value  of  silver  in 
England  fluctuated  from  about  45  to  55  pence  per  ounce,  or 
about  20  per  cent.,  and  20  per  cent,  on  five  thousand  mil- 
lions would  be  seven  hundred  and  fifty  millions.  While 
it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  operators  realized  this 
immense  amount,  still  these  gentlemen  have  learned  how 
to  obtain  profits  much  greater  than  could  be  realized  on 
the  amount  that  actually  passes  through  their  hands. 

The  injurious  tendency  of  demonetizing  silver  is  most 
clearly  seen  in  its  effects  upon  the  debtor  and  creditor 
classes,  not  only  in  this,  but  in  other  nations.  The  credit 
system  is  probably  much  more  widely  extended  in  our  busi- 
ness relations  here  than  elsewhere,  and  consequently  laws 
that  favor  the  creditor  at  the  expense  of  the  debtor  more 
seriously  and  injuriously  affect  the  masses.  During  the  in- 
flation period,  when  prices  were  above  the  true  medium, 
debts  were  contracted  for  every  species  of  property  at 
prices  greatly  above  its  true  value,  and  when  it  began  to 
decline,  the  demonetizing  of  silver  accelerated  the  declen- 
sion with  a twofold  power  beyond  what  would  have  been 
the  natural  result,  and  ruin  and  bankruptcy  were  nearly 
universal.  Instead  of  attempting  a sudden  return  to  specie 
payment  on  even  a gold  and  silver  basis,  time  should  have 
been  given  to  liquidate  their  indebtedness  without  such  uni- 
versal suffering ; but  in  direct  opposition  to  a course  so 
just  and  reasonable,  the  act  of  ’73  was  passed,  the  ten- 
dency of  which  was  to  reduce  values  one-half  below  what 
they  were  before  the  inflation.  Is  it  possible  to  conceive 
anything  more  unjust  toward  the  debtor  class  than  the 
passage  of  this  act?  But  it  may  be  replied  that  this  law 
affected  only  the  debt  of  the  nation  : the  result  is  the 
only  answer  that  need  be  given.  The  depreciation  in 
value  of  every  description  of  property,  has  been  nearly  or 
quite  one  hundred  per  cent.,  and  the  rapid  declension  in 
values  commenced  immediately  after  the  passage  of  that 
law,  and  to  that  law  it  is  mainly  attributable.  It  has  de- 
prived the  people  of  half  the  ability  to  pay  their  debts 
which  they  believed  they  possessed  when  the  debts  were 
contracted.  This  plan  of  demonetizing  silver  is  not  purely 
or  primarily  of  American  origin.  It  is  the  highest  concep- 
tion of  the  greatest  financial  intellect  that  the  world  has 
ever  brought  forth.  A Rothschild  might  conceive  and  adopt 


10 


a plan  which,  by  patient  and  wise  measures,  would,  in 
centuries,  result  in  the  acquisition  of  hundreds  of  millions ; 
but  this  was  a coup  de  finance  which,  at  a single  stroke, 
put  thousands  of  millions  into  the  coffers  of  the  world’s 
creditors.  The  entire  national  indebtedness  of  the  world  is 
estimated  to  be  about  twenty-three  thousand  millions. 
National  indebtedness  is  never  paid  in  anything  but 
money,  and  gold  and  silver  alone  constitute  money.  If  sil- 
ver is  demonetized,  half  of  the  money  is  struck  out  of  exist- 
ence as  such,  and  the  gold  alone  is  known  as  money,  con- 
sequently the  gold  becomes  doubly  valuable,  and  public 
debts  being  payable  only  in  gold  are  also  doubly  valuable. 
The  creditors  are  benefited,  but  the  debtors  are  to  the  same 
extent  injured.  The  people  are  the  debtors  in  this  and 
all  nations,  and  should  seek  relief  where  alone  they  can 
obtain  it.  The  burden  should  be  removed  by  those  who 
have  wrongfully  placed  it  upon  our  shoulders. 

So  far  as  America  is  concerned,  a beneficent  Providence 
has  put  it  in  our  power  to  pay  off  the  national  debt,  and 
at  the  same  time  develop  all  our  vast  national  resources 
as  rapidly  as  would  be  for  our  ultimate  benefit.  The  land 
given  us  for  our  inheritance  is  so  vast  in  extent,  so  varied 
in  climate,  so  abundant  in  its  productions,  so  rich  in 
mineral  wealth,  so  blessed  with  its  means  of  intercommuni- 
cation, its  rivers  like  threads  of  silver  interwoven  through- 
out our  vast  domain,  and  its  thousands  upon  thousands  of 
miles  of  railroad,  binding  us  with  bands  of  iron — the 
more  than  forty  millions  of  active,  intelligent  people  occu- 
pying that  land — that  when  we  reflect  upon  the  advantages 
we  enjoy,  we  cannot  doubt  that,  with  wise  laws,  we  shall 
at  no  remote  period  assume  that  high  position  among  the 
brotherhood  of  nations  that  these  advantages  entitle  us  to 
anticipate.  Other  nations  are  cumbered  with  much  larger 
debts ; they  are  compelled  to  withdraw  from  productive 
employments  a very  large  portion  of  their  population  to 
supply  their  armies  and  navies ; they  are  obliged  to  sup- 
port those  armies  and  navies  at  large  expense ; and,  with 
the  interest  on  their  national  debts,  they  can  never  look  for- 
ward to  the  payment  of  the  principal  with  any  reasonable 
assurance  that  it  can  be  effected.  While  America,  on  the 
contrary,  in  addition  to  all  her  other  great  resources,  has 
laid  away  in  the  great  store-house  that  a gracious  Provi- 
dence has  provided  for  us,  precious  metals,  which,  if  drawn 
forth  to  the  same  extent  that  they  have  been  for  the  last 


11 


few  years,  will,  in  a little  over  twenty  years,  pay  off  the 
entire  national  debt,  and  at  the  same  time  furnish  a circu- 
lating medium  adequate  to  meet  all  the  business  require- 
ments of  the  people.  But  as  the  act  of  demonetizing  silver 
by  an  American  Congress  mainly  affects  American  inter- 
ests, it  is  principally  in  this  light  that  the  subject  should 
be  investigated. 

I have  endeavored  to  point  out  some  of  the  many  evils 
resulting  to  the  debtor  class  from  the  act  of  ’73,  arising 
from  the  great  depression  in  values  below  their  true  me- 
dium, as  a necessary  consequence  of  it.  To  me,  it  ap- 
pears that  remedial  measures  may  be  adopted,  which  will 
not  only  greatly  mitigate  them,  but  prevent  their  recur- 
rence in  the  future.  It  must  ever  be  borne  in  mind  that 
great  and  rapid  fluctuations  in  values  are  to  be  deprecated 
in  unmeasured  terms  ; and  that  fortunes  acquired  by  other 
means  than  honest,  intelligent  industry  and  economy  are 
wrongfully  acquired.  I am  fully  conscious  that,  in  this 
view  of  the  acquisition  of  wealth,  I shall  be  opposed  by 
all  the  stock-jobbing  and  gambling  operators,  as  well  as 
ring  cliques , that  exert  such  controlling  influence  in  finan- 
cial matters  at  the  present  time,  but  I believe  that  all  who 
are  governed  by  principles  of  moral  honesty  will  fully 
concur  in  my  opinion. 

In  former  articles,  I pointed  out  the  means  by  which, 
as  I thought,  this  could  be  accomplished  ; but,  without  en- 
tering into  as  full  an  exposition  of  them  as  I then  did,  I 
will  now  simply  indicate  the  main  features  of  the  plan  I 
then  suggested.  The  amount  of  paper  circulation  afloat 
on  the  1st  July  last  was  a trifle  short  of  seven  hundred 
millions,  and  this,  if  made  equal  to  coin,  would  be  adequate 
to  meet  all  the  financial  wants  of  the  country — indeed, 
money  has  never  been  reduced  to  so  low  a rate  of  interest 
as  it  has  commanded  during  the  last  year,  showing  con- 
clusively that  we  have  all  that  our  present  necessities 
require.  Nearly  three  hundred  and  thirty  millions  of  this 
circulation  is  about  fifteen  per  cent,  better  than  coin,  as  it 
represents  about  $366,000,000  of  bonds,  worth  a premium 
in  gold  above  their  present  par  value  ; about  $370,000,000 
is  in  greenbacks,  at  present  below  gold  only  about  five  per 
cent.  To  make  this  equal  to  coin,  I would  suggest  the 
propriety  of  gradually  withdrawing  annually  a portion  of 
it,  and  substituting  therefor  3.65  interest-bearing  scrip,  of 
the  denomination  of  $10  and  upward,  payable  in  coin 


12 


and  redeemable  at  the  expiration  of  ten  years  from  the 
date  of  its  issue,  or  convertible  into  bonds  bearing  the 
same  rate  of  interest,  and  payable  at  a period  beyond  that 
of  any  present  outstanding  indebtedness.  It  might  be  de- 
sirable that  these  bonds  should  be  issued  with  a proviso 
that  they  might  at  the  option  of  the  holder  be  surren- 
dered, and  similar  scrip  again  issued  in  their  stead,  if  the 
demand  for  currency  should  at  any  future  period  be 
greater  than  the  supply.  This  scrip  would  really  be  more 
valuable  than  coin,  for  while  lying  idle  it  would  be  ac- 
cumulating interest,  and  those  desiring  to  lay  by  small 
amounts  for  future  use  would  prefer  it  to  making  deposits 
in  savings  institutions,  being  a safer  and  better  invest- 
ment, while  it  would  result  in  giving  the  masses  of  the 
people  an  interest  in  our  national  existence  that  they  do 
not  now  generally  feel,  and  it  would  have  a tendency  to 
bring  down  the  rate  of  interest  on  our  national  indebted- 
ness to  a lower  standard  than  is  now  paid. 

In  order  to  enable  the  banks  to  resume  specie  payment 
without  the  risk  of  again  being  compelled  to  suspend  it 
at  any  future  period,  I would  suggest,  if  they  require  it, 
that  the  Government  should  pay  them  the  ten  per  cent,  of 
the  par  value  of  the  bonds  withheld,  as  security  to  the 
bill  holder  for  the  ultimate  redemption  of  the  currency 
issued  on  those  bonds.  These  bonds,  instead  of  being 
below  par  in  gold  as  at  the  time  the  currency  was  issued, 
are  now  worth  15  or  20  per  cent,  in  gold  above  their  par 
value,  and  the  Government  would  be  perfectly  secure 
against  loss  by  this  act  of  justice  to  the  banks.  The  Gov- 
ernment had  on  hand  on  the  1st  of  March  nearly  eighty- 
seven  millions  in  coin,  and  it  would  require  but  thirty- 
seven  millions  to  pay  the  banks  this  10  per  cent.,  which 
would  enable  them  to  resume  specie  payment  at  any 
time.  Indeed,  our  late  President,  in  his  message  to  Con- 
gress, under  date  of  February  3,  said  he  “ believed  the 
“ time  had  come  when,  by  a simple  act  of  the  legislative 
“ branch  of  the  Government,  this  most  desirable  result 
“ can  be  attained,”  and  this,  in  his  view,  could  be  accom- 
plished on  a gold  basis.  How  much  more  readily  on  a coin 
basis  of  silver  and  gold  combined.  The  annual  product 
of  bullion  in  gold  and  silver  from  our  mines  will  not  vary 
greatly  from  ninety  millions.  Our  interest-paying  na- 
tional indebtedness  is  a trifle  less  than  $1,700,000,000, 
bearing  an  average  interest  of  about  5^  per  cent.  This 


18 


indebtedness  is  being  reduced  at  about  the  same  rate 
that  I should  think  it  would  be  advisable  to  issue  3.65 
interest-paying  scrip,  so  that  while  we  reduced  the  rate 
of  interest,  we  should  not  reduce  the  volume  of  currency 
so  as  to  affect  values  to  the  unnecessary  injury  of  the 
debtor  class.  I have  not  the  data  to  show  the  exact 
amount  of  our  bonds  held  by  foreign  nations,  but,  from 
the  best  sources  of  information  I am  able  to  obtain,  I 
assume  it  to  be  about  $700,000,000,  leaving  about  $1,000,- 
000,000,  held  in  this  country.  The  interest  on  the  foreign 
indebtedness  would  be  about  $38,000,000,  and  on  that 
held  in  this  country  about  $55,000,000,  making  altogether 
about  $93,000,000,  or  $3,000,000  more  than  our  entire 
product  of  gold  and  silver  united.  The  bullion  produced 
in  this  country  is  in  relative  value  about  equal ; the  sil- 
ver, at  present,  perhaps  predominating.  Now,  if  gold 
alone  can  be  used  in  payment  of  our  bonds,  from  what 
source  are  we  to  derive  the  means  of  paying  the  interest 
and  principal  of  our  national  debt  ? It  may  be  replied, 
From  the  sale  of  our  silver  and  the  imposts  on  foreign 
productions.  But  the  time  is  rapidly  approaching  when 
we  shall  manufacture  our  own  raw  material,  and  not  re- 
quire the  manufactures  of  other  nations,  upon  which 
duties  can  be  imposed  ; and  what  legitimate  reason  can 
be  assigned  why  silver  should  be  depreciated  in  value  ; 
that  the  holders  of  our  bonds  should  be  enriched  by  the 
depreciation  of  an  American  product  of  such  great  value  ? 
Or,  why  should  silver  be  demonetized,  except  it  be  to  form  a 
commodity  in  which  gambling  speculators  may  make 
fortunes  by  creating  unnecessary  fluctuations  in  values  ? 
But  if  the  bi-metallic  currency  is  adopted,  our  mines 
would  produce  nearly  or  quite  enough  to  pay  the  interest 
on  our  national  debt,  and  leave  over  fifty  millions  annually 
to  be  added  to  our  circulating  medium,  which  would  be 
equal  to  any  demand  for  currency  that  the  business  in- 
terests of  the  nation  might  require. 

Through  a combination  of  circumstances,  we  have  now 
the  best  banking  system  the  world  has  ever  known  ; 
giving  the  bill-holder  perfect  security,  and  establishing  a 
currency  of  equal  value  in  all  sections  of  the  country  ; 
saving  to  the  people  millions  that,  under  any  former  sys- 
tem, would  have  been  required  to  be  paid  for  exchanges, 
so  that  it  should  be  the  object  of  all  of  our  statesmen  to 
preserve  it,  in  all  its  essential  features,  as  near  its  present 


14 


character  as  possible.  A permanent  monetary  system, 
beyond  the  reach  of  sudden  fluctuations,  established  upon 
a specie  basis,  and  adequate  to  all  the  necessities  of  the 
varied  business  relations  of  the  people,  is  the  one  thing, 
beyond  all  others,  required  for  the  full  development  of 
the  vast  resources  of  this  great  nation,  soon  to  be,  in  all 
that  constitutes  real  greatness,  the  mightiest  of  the  earth. 
To  be  assured  of  this,  we  need  only  to  look  at  the  conti- 
nent of  North  America,  which,  from  its  locality,  and  the 
natural  tendency  of  self-interest,  will,  at  no  distant  day, 
be  united  under  one  republican  government,  combining 
every  variety  of  climate  with  productions,  or  capacity  to 
produce  every  article  that  the  wants  of  mankind  require ; 
peopled  with  more  than  fifty  millions  of  active,  intelligent 
men,  with  lakes,  rivers,  canals,  and  railroads  binding  us 
together  as  with  bands  of  iron,  rendering  communication 
with  every  part  easy  and  rapid,  all  caste  destiwed,  placed 
on  one  common  level,  opening  the  pathway  to  honor  and 
usefulness  alike  to  all ; where  moral  worth  and  mental 
culture  should  alone  be  the  talisman  to  secure  distinction; 
where  the  different  races  of  men  may  be  united  in  one 
homogeneous  mass,  benefiting  and  aiding  each  other,  then 
the  motto  that  so  proudly  floats  on  our  banner  would  be 
verified  to  the  world. 

I have  said  that  the  one  thing  to  be  desired  for  our 
commercial  prosperity  is  a monetary  system  that  secures 
us  a currency  beyond  fluctuation  in  value ; and  this  can 
only  be  secured  by  remonetizing  silver  at  the  earliest 
practicable  period.  It  is  not  necessary  or  desirable  that 
our  circulation  should  be  solely  a metallic  one  ; indeed, 
for  all  large  transactions,  that  which  is  its  true  represent- 
ative is  far  more  convenient  and  preferable.  In  with- 
drawing the  greenbacks,  those  of  a less  denomination 
than  five  dollars  should  be  first  retired ; and  the  banks 
also,  at  no  remote  period,  be  required  to  retire  all  of  a 
less  denomination  than  five  dollars ; while,  in  coining 
gold  hereafter,  a large  proportion  should  be  quarter  eagles 
and  three-dollar  pieces.  Silver  coin  of  a less  denomina- 
tion than  one  dollar  should  be  the  true  representative  in 
weight,  that  it  purports  to  be  in  name,  of  the  standard  dol- 
lar. With  money  of  an  unchangeable  value,  the  ability 
to  produce  fluctuation  would  be  greatly  lessened,  business 
men  would  be  better  qualified  to  form  correct  estimates 
of  true  values,  manufacturers  and  mechanics  would  mu- 


15 


tually  be  better  able  to  form  just  conceptions  of  what  each 
contributed  to  the  value  of  the  article  manufactured,  and 
in  like  manner  the  value  of  every  product  could  be  more 
correctly  estimated  and  better  understood.  In  a govern- 
ment like  ours  there  should  be  no  class  legislation — that 
which  benefits  one  class  must  surely  injure  another.  The 
act  of  ’73  alone  benefits  the  creditor  class,  and  especially 
the  bond-holders,  and  to  whatever  extent  it  benefits  them 
it  injures  the  people  who  must  pay  the  bonds,  and  the 
debtors  whose  property  has  been  wrongfully  depreciated 
below  the  true  medium  value  by  the  effect  of  the  act. 

It  is  not  so  important  to  us,  as  a nation,  whether  gold 
or  silver,  or  both  combined,  should  be  the  basis  of  a cir- 
culating medium,  as  it  is  to  ascertain  and  secure  one  as 
speedily  as  possible  that  will  be  free  from  all  fluctuations 
in  the  future.  Neither  gold  alone  nor  silver  alone,  ade- 
quate to  this  end,  is  attainable  by  us ; but  a kind  paternal 
hand  has  placed  within  our  reach  enough  of  both  united 
to  secure  this  most  desirable  object.  Let  silver  be  remon- 
etized and  made  a legal  tender  to  the  same  extent  as  gold, 
and  the  problem  will  soon  be  solved.  From  conversation 
and  correspondence  with  men  of  whose  honesty  there  can 
be  no  doubt,  and  of  whose  intelligence  there  can  be  no 
question,  I am  fully  satisfied  that  many  have  been  led  to 
advocate  the  demonetizing  of  silver  from  the  purest  mo- 
tives, believing  it  would  result  in  good  : but  still  I have 
never  heard  a reason  assigned  for  the  adoption  of  the 
measure,  or  a way  pointed  out  by  which  the  good  might 
be  secured,  that,  to  my  mind,  was  a justification  of  the 
measure,  or  even  a palliation  for  the  evils  that  have  re- 
sulted from  it. 

Money  is  the  Archimedean  lever  that  moves  the  world 
for  good  or  evil,  dependent  for  its  influence  upon  the  ful- 
crum on  which  it  rests.  If  on  the  Christian  principle  of 
doing  unto  others  as  we  would  that  they  should  do  unto 
us,  then  it  blesses  both  the  giver  and  receiver,  but  if  on 
cupidity  “ it  is  the  root  of  all  evil  ” and  moves  the  world 
toward  the  destruction  of  all  that  is  estimable  and  en- 
nobling in  man. 

There  are  epochs  in  the  history  of  all  nations  that  mark 
events  of  such  importance,  that,  like  birth,  marriage,  and 
a change  from  this  to  a higher  existence  in  the  lives  of 
individuals,  are  referred  to  as  incidents  that  exert  great 
influence  in  the  formation  of  character,  and  determine  in 


16 


a great  degree  the  worth  of  the  individual  or  nation 
whose  merits  we  are  considering.  Washington  is  truly 
designated  the  Father  of  his  Country.  Lincoln  destroyed 
caste , and  opened  the  way  to  a union  of  the  people,  and 
now  Hayes  is  given  us  to  make  broad  the  road  to  a na- 
tional existence  so  much  higher  than  we  have  ever  known 
that  it  can  only  be  compared  with  life  on  earth  to  the  life 
beyond.  When  we  but  dimly  look  at  its  future  destiny  as 
the  home  of  man,  enjoying  his  primeval  rights,  where  the 
oppressed  can  find  a home  free  from  the  despot’s  power, 
where  war’s  destroying  scourge  shall  never  again  be  felt, 
where  nation  shall  not  rise  against  nation,  and  the  uncon- 
trolled ambition  and  pride  of  rulers  shall  not  result  in 
sweeping  thousands  of  thousands  from  the  paths  of  useful- 
ness into  a premature  grave  ; but  where  men  of  all  classes 
and  conditions  can  meet  as  of  one  blood  and  harmoniously 
co-operate  in  a mighty  effort  to  render  the  Continent  of 
North  America  and  the  surrounding  islands  a nation 
where  right,  not  might,  is  power,  where  justice  reigns 
unbought  and  where  true  liberty  is  enjoyed.  With 
judicious  legislation  and  the  co-operation  of  the  people 
with  the  course  marked  out  by  the  President  in  his  inaugu- 
ral and  more  clearly  developed  in  his  efforts  to  harmonize 
and  unify  the  people  of  different  sections  with  each  other, 
a career  of  prosperity  will  be  opened  to  America  such  as 
should  unite  all  in  one  great  effort  to  secure  it.  The 
day,  as  I have  before  said,  is  not  distant  when  this  nation 
shall  become  the  manufactory  for  the  world.  The  laborers 
will  come  from  all  nations,  and  the  raw  material  will  here 
be  converted  into  fabrics  such  as  our  own  people  and 
the  people  of  the  whole  earth  require,  and  freed  from 
the  unnecessary  expenses  which  the  nations  of  the  old 
world  are  compelled  to  expend  for  their  maintenance,  we 
shall  soon  be  in  a condition  to  commence  the  career  that 
can  end  only  in  rendering  us  the  greatest  nation  that  the 
world  has  ever  known,  and  it  appears  to  me  that  the  same 
beneficent  power  which  gave  us  a Washington  and  a 
Lincoln  in  our  hour  of  need  has  given  us  a Hayes  in  our 
present  emergency,  and  that  these  three  will  constitute  a 
trinity  dear  to  the  heart  of  every  American,  and  honored 
by  the  world  as  those  chosen  by  the  great  Ruler  to  perfect 
the  great  plan  he  had  in  view  when  he  framed  the  earth. 


Chicago,  April  16,  1877. 


SAMUEL  HOARD. 


